The introduction of the latest G-series OLED TV has everyone buzzing with anticipation, and the G3 model is stealing the spotlight for a groundbreaking reason. It proudly introduces OLED TV enthusiasts to Micro Lens Array (MLA) technology. This innovation promises to catapult OLED brightness to dazzling heights, addressing what some considered a shortcoming when compared to traditional backlit TVs.

It's important to highlight that the eye-popping brightness levels of 2000+ nits that sparked conversations everywhere are mostly observable in the G3's eye-catching, yet overly processed Vivid mode. Nevertheless, the advancements it brings to the table shine through in its more color-accurate settings as well.

That said, it's best to temper expectations regarding the search for screen-burning brightness. For those who appreciate a more genuine cinematic experience, the G3 does not disappoint. It follows closely in the footsteps of its predecessor, the G2, but elevates the viewing experience with its enhanced features, notwithstanding a few minor reservations.

Exploring the New Frontiers of Television with LG's Latest Marvel

Welcome to the era of jaw-dropping visuals and unparalleled performance, as LG unveils its latest sensation, the LG G3. This masterpiece, boasting a 65-inch display, arrives with a price tag that captures attention: £3500 / $3300 (approximately AU$6500). It signifies a premium over its predecessor, the G2. However, LG’s strategy positions the G3 as a competitively priced contender in the high-stakes battle of the screens, especially when pitted against its closest competitor, the Samsung S95C. Here, it offers a slightly more attractive deal in the UK, saving consumers £99, and aligns perfectly with the US market pricing. Regrettably, Australian pricing remains under wraps for now.

The query on every tech aficionado's mind annually is the price difference between LG’s premium G-series and the more accessible C-series models. For those eyeing the 65-inch G3, be prepared to allocate an additional £600 / $700 (around AU$1100) over the C3 model. This delineation highlights LG's commitment to providing unmatched quality and innovation for those seeking the ultimate viewing experience.

Revolutionizing Home Entertainment: The Sleek Design of the G3

For those who know the G2's blueprint by heart, the G3's design will seem like a familiar friend with a few subtle yet impactful upgrades. Boasting a sleek profile just like its predecessor, the G3 sets itself apart with a design that merges effortlessly with your living space.

Its signature stepped edges make a return, ensuring a minimal gap between the TV's frame and the wall, thanks to the innovative Zero Gap wall mount included right in the box. Despite maintaining a slender thickness of only 2.4cm, the absence of a default tabletop stand continues to be a point of discussion among users. The official pedestal stand, showcased in visuals, promises to enhance the setup but at an additional cost, encouraging alternatives through compatible third-party solutions thanks to the standard VESA mounting points.

A notable difference, though, is the G3's screen, which carries a subtle bronze tint when powered off - a testament to its advanced anti-reflective coating. This significant enhancement reduces reflections dramatically, ensuring an immersive viewing experience that's unhindered, whether you're engrossed in a cinematic journey or deeply involved in a game.

Features

At the heart of the innovation drive is the G3's revolutionary MLA technology. Imagine a canvas sprinkled with billions of microscopic lenses, each diligently channeling light from the OLEDs. This wizardry allows for a brighter visual experience without pushing the OLED materials beyond their comfort zone — a crucial step in averting image retention or burn-in issues.

Notably, the G3 ascends beyond its predecessor, the G2, by incorporating a heatsink. This feature elevates the OLEDs' brightness capabilities without risking burn-in, especially notable in comparison to standard OLED TVs like the C2 and C3.

The leap in performance is impressive. With MLA technology, the G3 boasts a peak brightness of approximately 2040 nits in HDR Vivid mode, and 1470 nits in HDR Cinema — substantial increases from last year’s G2. This enhancement does not compromise the expected perfection in blacks and contrast control synonymous with OLED technology.

However, concerns linger about OLED's ability to render vibrant colors in its brightest displays, a challenge seemingly tackled by QD-OLED. Further insights will be shared in the sections below.

LG introduces its latest processor, the Alpha 9 Gen 6, in 2023. This powerhouse brings a suite of enhancements including AI Super Upscaling Pro for immaculate upscaling of sub-4K content, OLED Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro for nuanced HDR optimization, and the Object and HDR Expression Enhancers for crisper, more vivid foreground elements.

On the sonic front, the chip's new features enable sound up-mixing to 9.1.2 channels and an Auto Balance Control for a harmoniously balanced audio experience, ensuring prominent midrange vocals even amidst hefty bass.

In a nod to seamless integration, LG has enhanced the synergy between its TVs and soundbars. This collaboration ensures the TV speakers contribute to the soundbar's output, enriching the overall sound quality.

2023 also sees the debut of an optimized webOS 23. Streamlining from several pages to just two, this update enhances navigation speed. Most content rows have been neatly packed into 'Cards' — a tidy solution to declutter the home screen without sacrificing accessibility.

On the gaming frontier, LG maintains its competitive edge with four HDMI 2.1 inputs supporting advanced features like 4K/120Hz, ALLM, and VRR — a rarity still in the year ahead. The inclusion of Dolby Vision gaming and the HGiG mode enhance the gaming visuals, complemented by an impressively low input lag.

The Game Optimizer's new sub-menu for audio adjustments, though a departure from its simpler origins, caters to gamers’ preferences for custom sound settings.

Lastly, the Personalised Picture Wizard offers an intriguing, yet questionable, attempt at customizing picture settings based on user preferences in a variety of images. Despite its innovative intent, it’s debatable how much it actually contributes to a serious viewer's experience.

Picture

Starting with a nod to last year's G2 as our benchmark, we dive into some Dolby Vision content with eagerness. The Dolby Vision Cinema Home picture preset is our go-to, blending accuracy with extra brightness to bring images to life. However, we've decided to bypass the Super Resolution feature, alongside noise reduction options, and tweaked both the AI Brightness and Adjust Logo Brightness settings for an optimal viewing experience.

When viewing It (2017), the G3's ability to present highlights with extra brightness immediately captures our attention. A stained glass window in a pivotal scene gleams brighter and with more vibrancy than seen on the G2, particularly evident in the vivid reds, enhancing realism significantly. This trend of vibrant, lifelike colors persists across various content, highlighting an important breakthrough in MLA-boosted OLED TV technology.

Intriguingly, in lower light scenes, the G3 presents a slightly less saturated color palette compared to the G2, affecting elements like skin tones and important movie props, illustrating a nuanced approach to color reproduction. Despite this, the G3 generally displays more vibrant colors in numerous lighting conditions, offering a richer visual experience.

Choosing the Dolby Vision Cinema preset reveals a tendency towards a paler image in lower lighting across more scenes, affirming our preference for the Dolby Vision Cinema Home preset for its vibrancy and brightness. Similarly, the HDR Filmmaker Mode also exhibits diminished vibrancy in dimly lit scenes, hindering its overall pop and dynamism despite a richer coloration in specific highlights compared to the G2. However, not all content is affected equally, with some films showcasing exceptional brightness and vibrancy in key scenes.

Fortunately, a shift to the HDR Cinema preset amends performance expectations, boosting brightness and vibrancy, particularly in warmly lit scenes, providing a more rounded viewing experience. The G3 advances over the G2 in shadow detail as well, unraveling additional visual information without undermining the authenticity of the content.

The G3's picture presets, especially Vivid, offer dazzling brightness, though accuracy for cinematic content may vary. Thus, we advocate for the Cinema Mode for HDR10 or HLG content to maintain balance. In every mode, the G3 excels in sharpness, detail, contrast, and color vibrancy, producing a substantially three-dimensional and solid picture. Coupled with Cinematic Movement, it manages motion smoothly, ensuring a natural portrayal of fast-moving scenes.

An update in HDR performance is the adjusted auto-dimming feature, enhancing viewing consistency during extended dark scenes, a welcome improvement over previous models. Lastly, exploring the Filmmaker Mode with 1080p Blu-ray content, like True Grit, reveals exceptional vibrancy and an enhanced viewing experience across the board, solidifying the advancements made with the G3.

Exploring the Sound Quality of LG's Latest TV

When it comes to vibrant visuals in dim settings, LG's newest TV promises an exhilarating experience, setting it apart from its predecessor. Yet, when we dive into the audio performance, the excitement tends to wane a bit. A side-by-side comparison with various movies reveals that, although the dynamic range holds up well against TV standards—ensuring volume builds appropriately in scenes—the audio lacks the impactful punch we crave. The sound effects emerge with a bit too much softness.

Engaging the Dolby Atmos mode introduces an impressively expansive soundscape, pushing the auditory boundaries beyond the TV frame. However, it falls short of the G2 in depth and richness in the bass department. Moreover, this mode doesn't escape the common issue of bass distortion during intense low-frequency moments found in movies like Blade Runner 2049.

Opting out of Dolby Atmos mode significantly diminishes the bass distortion issue, presenting a more unified audio experience even though it sacrifices some spatial dimensionality. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite bring the much-needed vitality to the audio performance, as the output remains on the softer side.

Toggling on the AI Sound Pro feature does kick the energy up a notch with a more aggressive sound. However, this adjustment leads to a somewhat thin and clipped audio quality, lacking the depth needed for a truly immersive experience. Thus, despite its promise, it falls short of expectations.

For regular TV viewing, sticking to the Standard sound setting with Dolby Atmos off is perfectly adequate. This mode ensures voices come through with clarity amidst a range of content. The bass issue is relatively minor and specific, which might not deter users from enjoying the comprehensive soundstage Dolby Atmos offers. It's unfortunate that compared to its forerunner, the tuning of LG's G3 leans towards a gentler and less thrilling auditory journey.

Our Take

Let's be honest, the audio performance of most TVs doesn't inspire standing ovations. That's precisely why we often find ourselves suggesting a sleek soundbar to enhance your auditory experience. This doesn't mean the audio quality of the TV is irrelevant, but rather, it's an area easily augmented with the right accessory. The TV in question might not hit the high notes perfectly, but it doesn't fall flat either—a noteworthy consideration if you're leaning on the TV's built-in speakers.

But what truly steals the show is its arsenal of features and exceptional picture quality that manages to shine, even under less-than-ideal lighting conditions. Its display is a feast for the eyes, boasting brighter, more vivid colors and delivering content that's both insightful and captivating. In a nutshell, this is an exemplary model that has taken its predecessor's legacy and elevated it further.

Does it overshadow the earlier C3 model, and can it stand its ground against the upcoming MLA and QD-OLED releases? While the final verdict awaits these models' testing phase, the bar has certainly been raised high, setting an impressive benchmark for future contenders.